Santonio Holmes (10) is helped off field with a foot injury. The X-ray came back negative. (Bill Kostroun/AP)

Behind the double wooden doors to Room 1B.18.03 inside MetLife Stadium, wideout Santonio Holmes sat upright, his back supported by a yellow towel on a training table after the Jets' 34-0 loss to the 49ers Sunday. His left foot, elevated, was wrapped in a black boot.

Teammates limped to and from treatment stations. Quarterback Mark Sanchez, dressed in a gray suit, visited the receiver on his way to his postgame press conference. Wideout Chaz Schilens spoke with Holmes briefly to gauge his condition.

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"It looked pretty bad," Schilens said.

Holmes, who caught four balls for 29 yards, got hurt on a quick hitch without ever getting hit. He caught the ball, took a step, then collapsed. He writhed in pain and fumbled the ball, which was returned by cornerback Carlos Rogers 51 yards for a touchdown. Jets medical personnel carried Holmes off the field.

According to a source, the X-ray was negative. An MRI is scheduled for Monday. "The offense runs through him," Schilens said. "Guys including myself have to step up."

Holmes is difficult to read on and off the field. Defenders find it hard to identify where he's going, insisting that the suddenness of his first step is unsettling; teammates considered him a "cancer" in the locker room last season. Still, after struggling to develop rhythm with Sanchez over the past year, he tallied 147 receiving yards last Sunday in the win over Miami and maintained that his role in the offense was on the upswing. One misstep halted that progress.

"It seems like we execute to a point then shoot ourselves in the foot," Schilens said.

Signs of maturity were displayed by Holmes on the sideline Sunday.

After Sanchez threw an interception in the third quarter, Holmes spoke with him on the bench, then exchanged fist pounds with each offensive starter, but enthusiasm only went so far.

Sanchez's options continue to dwindle. Holmes is the team's longest-tenured wideout, and tight end Dustin Keller, typically Sanchez's security blanket, is out with a hamstring injury. Rookie receiver Stephen Hill (hamstring) missed his second consecutive game as well, leaving Jeremy Kerley, now in his second season, as Sanchez's most familiar target.

Holmes shook Hill's hand as he was being carted off the field.

"You need to get back on the field," Holmes said.

Holmes was the last Jet to leave the stadium Sunday evening. Riding on the back of golf cart with crutches next to him, Holmes, dressed in black from cap to Converse sneakers, held up a peace sign as fans applauded him.

From there, the cart pulled down a ramp toward the players' parking lot and an uncertain future.